Born in Chennai, India and a native of Birmingham, Alabama, Udayakumar is a sophomore at UAB majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry and Public Health. This year marks her first year serving as a member of the USGA.

“I was attracted to USGA because I wanted to become a part of an organization in which all the students are highly motivated to bring about progressive change on campus,” Udayakumar said.

As Graphic Design Chair, Udayakumar’s primary job is designing graphics for all USGA-sponsored events and for the social media outlets Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the USGA website. Thus far, she has created graphics in the form of fliers and images for various upcoming USGA events, such as the Constitution Debate Day on September 17th and interest meetings for the Mental Health Awareness Program and Student Teams Achieving Realistic Solutions Program, also on September 17th.

“My goal for this year is to use graphic design to revamp USGA’s image to reflect the ideals this year’s officers hold,” Udayakumar said. “I think it is important for the student body to know about our many services, and I hope to spread awareness for these amazing initiatives so students can take full advantage of them.”

Udayakumar’s longstanding passion and talent for graphic design has enjoyed visible success on campus. In April, she won the UAB Earth Day Logo Competition, and this summer she branded USGA with the creation of the organization’s new logo.

“I first started playing around with Photoshop in 7th grade. I used to design embarrassingly silly websites and I learned most of my HTML and design skills from sites like Neopets and Tumblr. Slowly, I started freelancing for actual organizations in my community, which made me start taking graphic design more seriously. I know I have much more to learn and I hope to foster my passion for graphic design alongside my professional career,” she said.

Aside from overseeing all things graphic design for the USGA, Udayakumar is an integral part of the UAB undergraduate community in a variety of other realms. She is a Bio Scholar and a member of the Science and Technology Honors Program, the Publicity Chair for the Indian Cultural Association, and a member of the Inquiro Undergraduate Research Journal Editorial Board. She is also an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Tollefsbol’s lab, which studies the effects of epigenetics in cancer and aging.

In her free time, Udayakumar volunteers extensively at Children’s Hospital of Alabama in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and performs Indian classical dance for the dance company Natyananda, which she has been a part of for 12 years.

Udayakumar’s vibrant graphic design work can be seen across UAB’s campus and on USGA’s social media outlets. Be on the lookout for more graphics, artfully designed by Neha Udayakumar, announcing upcoming USGA events such as Voter Registration Day, Halloween on the Green, and Parking Amnesty Day.